New Jew in Town: I’m Basically the Jewish Spiderman

This is a guest post by Daci Platt. Daci spends 99% of her life explaining her name (it’s short for Hadassah) and 1% adjusting to life in Minneapolis. She and her husband Yoni moved from Louisiana in June 2012 and are still trying to understand the appeal of a hot dish. Daci is a writer at the Minneapolis Jewish Federation  and enjoys blogging, laughing, and dancing.
About a year ago, a twenty-something girl moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where I was living at the time. Her last name had a “-berg” in it, which piqued interest in our small community.
A few weeks after she moved to town, I received an e-mail from my mother-in-law across town, the subject of which started with FW:FW:FW:. The e-mail basically said this: NEW JEWISH GIRL IN TOWN!!!! THIS IS A BIG DEAL! WHO WILL FEED THIS POOR GIRL FOR ROSH HASHANA?
I didn’t get the same reaction when I moved to Minneapolis last month.
This isn’t the Jewish community’s fault; no one expects a community of 35,000 Jews to react to new blood the same way a community of 450 like Shreveport would. And to be honest — I didn’t want that kind of pressure. I knew, from moving to Shreveport myself four years earlier and from watching the movie Spiderman, that with great power comes great responsibility. My great power was my capability to produce Jewish babies. My responsibility was to stay in Shreveport – forever — and revive an aging Jewish community.
I’m not sure an exuberant e-mail announcing my arrival is worth that weight on my shoulders.
Besides, I got a much better welcome from the Minneapolis Jewish community –specifically, the Minneapolis Jewish Federation: a job interview, a heartfelt promise to help me get settled in (regardless of whether or not I was hired) and then – eventually – a job. One week after moving to Minneapolis last month, I started my position as a writer at Federation, and I’m told I’ll be an integral part of their increasing efforts to make Jewish transplants to the Twin Cities feel at home. Which is why I’m here, giving TC Jewfolk readers the details on what it’s like being the new Jew in town.
I’m not single and there will be no scandalous Jewish dating stories. But, I’ll do my best to keep you entertained. My story so far involves getting robbed, dinner with the mayor, and unexpectedly making friends with a 60 year old man in a silver leotard.  And we’re only on week 5.  If you want more details (the man in the leotard is intriguing, right?), I’ll be at Federation’s Young Leadership Happy Hour this Thursday, 5 pm at Burger Jones. I’d love to meet you!